What can we learn from the Grasshopper Plagues?
Below are thirty comments written by the Ag
History Students who designed this web site. These are personal
opinions only, and you may or may not agree with some of them. Their
purpose is to cause us to think about what we can learn from the
grasshopper plagues of the
1870's. 1. Basically the grasshopper plagues should tell us that
we would never be prepared for everything. The only way that
we can survive is as a community. Everyone should help the
less fortunate out in times of need or disaster, to keep
from another destructive amount of destitution on anyone.
DP 2. We have been told that there was little or no chance
that the Grasshopper Plagues would ever happen again. But we
learned that there are locust plagues in Africa today. So
even if the grasshoppers don't come back to this continent
there is always a chance of something that could cause a
disaster such as the grasshoppers did. DP 3. In the case of the Grasshopper Plagues, the government
decided to give out bounties to those who captured the
grasshoppers and their eggs. This was to be paid ½ by
the state and ½ by the county. This left many of the
states and counties bankrupt and lacking funds to pay the
collectors. I feel the government should set back a disaster
fund that would be primarily used for instances such as
these. DP 4. It has been theorized that some bird species species
were almost exterminated by over hunting and this may have
contributed to the overgrowth of the grasshoppers. This is
an important lesson if there is some truth to this, for the
world resides in equilibrium and if that is disturbed
excessively then catastrophes will occur. DP 5. Nowadays with the large amounts of technology and
knowledge of chemicals, I feel that there can be a pesticide
produced that will control the problem without hurting
production. Many people are opposed to pesticides, but do
not understand that if these people of the 1870's had these
pesticides it would have saved farms and even lives.
DP 6. We should learn from the settlers and the Indians of
that time. While they were starving to death they learned
that the grasshoppers were edible. This brought on
innovations that kept many of the settlers alive long enough
for the plagues to end. DP 7. I feel the government should have learned that their
intervention into this problem was prolonged to the point of
destitution on the settlers. Excessive poverty was brought
on them by the grasshoppers and some people even starved to
death. The government should intervene much earlier and help
those in need to prevent any such casualties. DP 8. Some of the counties sustained damages of over 2
million dollars in grain loss alone, however, people still
endured. I think that if we had similar plagues today that
suffering would be greater due to the huge population, and
lack of the ability to cope. AR 10 Settlers made some interesting machinery to gather the
insects, if the plagues were as huge as they claim then I
wonder if today we could fight them with pesticides or
gathering equipment. AR 11 Although farmers are noted for their ingenuity, I
think that the gathering equipment that was designed shows
farmers never gave up even when they knew that their was no
hope to save crops. AR 12 It was reported that some looting was done, but not
one large incident of death by looters was reported in
Missouri. I think that if the plagues came back many people
would be hurt by others looting. AR 13 I read about many head of livestock being run out, or
dying in many parts of Missouri. Even though the farmers
lost everything, including the cows they milked they stayed.
The resilience of the people who stayed was amazing.
AR 14 Crop insurance is readily available today, and
government programs assure prices and assistance in case of
emergencies. The government didn't have programs like this
the 1800's. I think that some of the programs we have today
can be attributed to disasters like this. AR 15 I think the fact that the grasshoppers were able to
slow the movement of the mighty steam locomotives gives us a
good idea of just how much trouble the grasshoppers caused
the settlers. The picture of the grasshopper holding up the
train, while it is a big exaggeration, in a way is true. We
all can laugh at that picture now but I am sure the men on
the railroad did not laugh. BE 16 They said the grasshoppers were attracted to the
tracks because of the heat they produced in the morning. Is
it possible that if the grasshoppers came back today they
would be attracted to everything that can absorb heat? Just
think about how much fun it would be driving our vehicles
around. BE 17 We have several accounts of grasshoppers here in
Missouri. People talked about them blocking the sun and
creating a haze over the sky. I cannot even imagine that
many grasshoppers blocking the sun. Some settlers thought
that these plagues were like the ones in the Bible. If they
came today would we think the same thing? BE 18 Some settlers found that eating grasshoppers were the
only way to survive. They would cook them many ways to
dilute the taste of the grasshopper. Indians had been eating
grasshoppers for years but the settlers had not and now they
had to. This is why many died; they could not bring
themselves to eat a pest that had caused them so much
hardship. BE 19 It is ironic to me that some of the people in the city
found the grasshopper to be a delicacy. I believe that if
they had gone through what the settlers went through they
would not like the grasshoppers so much. That is just how
the world turns, one man hates it and other man loves it.
BE 20 People who are against the use of pesticides and
insecticides need to know what can happen. I think that they
should be aware of the plagues and just how much heartache
they can bring. These chemicals serve a purpose for the
better of our population. I believe that if people are
against chemicals being used they should come up with
something better, which is just as productive and efficient.
BE 21 If similar circumstances were to happen today, would
there be the support from neighbors for the survival of the
livestock? Would neighboring counties and states allow
farmers to move their animals away from affected areas
without objections? JP 22 Imagining the great damage that was caused during the
locust plagues and the stress that was put on the families
is hard enough for people today to understand. However,
those settlers that survived had to put out their second
crops as the last hope for the survival of their families
and their livestock. JP 23 The state and local governments should add a disaster
aid to each divisions budget to help out those farmers
affected by these circumstances, like plagues, diseases, and
drought. JP 24 Would the use of pesticides today be enough to battle
against the locusts or should new strains be established to
provide relief? If the settlers of the 1870's had the use of
such agents as pesticides instead of coal-oil and tar would
this plague be just a portion of a script from Steven
Spielberg's collection. JP 25 If certain disasters were to happen today would the
government step in time to stop some of the destruction that
we saw back in the 1870's? Would this relief come in time to
stop the destruction of crops that was produced back during
the locusts plagues or would the price of certain foods rise
to new all time highs? JP 26 Farmers today should learn from these circumstances
and provide the opportunity for other sources of income in
their families. Whether this mean that one parent works off
the farm or investments outside the agricultural field in
their communities. JP 27 The regulation of exports/imports should be monitored
during these times to increase the money provided for aid
and supplement for those farmers that are willing to
continue on through the hard times. Programs should be put
in place and different associations should be established
and properly represented in both the local and national
government. JP 28 Game management practices today can play a big role in
balancing the ecosystem. We don't know what caused the
sudden overabundance of locusts back in the 1870's, but with
the type of management practices that we have today this
plague could be regulated properly and efficiently to stop
some of the destruction that would be caused. JP 29 With such practices involved in plant genetics as gene
transfer new varieties of certain crops could be established
to be non-appealing to certain insects such as locusts,
grasshoppers, bots and weevils. Allowing time for the
management practices and the aid to be installed to provide
relief. JP 30 If a plague were to occur today would everyone have
enough food to survive? I believe that all of us can learn
something from the past. We should never think that
something like the plagues of the 1880's would never happen
again. Since less than 10% of our population are farmers I
believe that we could really be in trouble without the
proper planning. BE
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